awards

Two Reuters journalists, arrested while reporting on human rights abuses in Myanmar, have been selected as recipients of the Don Bolles Medal from Investigative Reporters and Editors. The medal recognizes investigative journalists who have exhibited extraordinary courage in standing up against intimidation or efforts to suppress the truth about matters of public importance. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned since December 2017. At the time of their arrest, thyey were investigating the September 2017 massacre of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The murders occurred during an army crackdown that the United Nations said has sent 700,000 people flooding into Bangladesh.

Canada's National Newspaper Awards have honored an impressive set of investigative reports, including probes into how police deal with sexual assault complaints, a man's claims of innocence after 30 years in prison, and Canada's role in the Panama Papers offshore scandal. Top honors went to "Unfounded," which exposed how police frequently abandon sexual assault cases, even when there is strong evidence. The 20-month project led police to re-open hundreds of cases. Also honored: a four-part series on the impact of concussions on retired Canadian football players.

The just-announced IRE awards honor powerful stories ranging from U.S. sex harassment to murders in Kiev and London. Winners of IRE's top honor, a medal, included the documentary Killing Pavel, on the murder of a Russian journalist in Ukraine, produced by GIJN members Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and Slidstvo. "This year’s entries were among the finest examples of investigative reporting I’ve seen since I began my tenure on the awards committee," said contest chair Jill Riepenhoff.

The 12th Wole Soyinka Awards for Investigative Reporting were given out December 9 in Lagos, honoring Nigeria's best muckraking journalism. Top honors went to Adekunle Yusuf, named Investigative Reporter of the Year, for his three-part series exposing corruption and favortism at top university Unilorin. The awards are sponsored by GIJN member Wole Soyinka Centre For Investigative Journalism, named after Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka.

The 2015 IRE Awards honor 20 impressive projects, ranging from small and large print markets to radio, TV, books, and student work. IRE medals, the group's top honors, go to OCCRP's Khadija Project, AP's Seafood from Slaves, a ProPublica/NPR series on poor worker protections, and the Tampa Bay Times' failing schools reporting. Lots of other impressive winners, including UC Berkeley's Investigative Reporting Program and CIR/Reveal.

The European Press Prizes were announced today, honoring some impressive investigative reports, including a Journalismfund.eu-backed project on migrant deaths, El Pais's "How To Produce Dead Guerillas," Novaya Gazeta's "Your Husband Voluntarily Went under Fire," and a special award to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.

EU Awards for Investigative Journalism in Western Balkans and Turkey are a new award for work in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Each prize includes 3,000-5,000 euros. For "investigative stories contributing to transparency and reporting on societal issues related to abuse of power and fundamental rights, corruption and organised crime that otherwise would not have been brought to the public's attention." Deadline: April 23.

European Press Prize finalists include investigations by GIJN members International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (Luxembourg Leaks), Journalismfund.eu (The Belarus Network & The Migrant Files), and Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. (Unholy Alliance & The Russian Laundromat). Winners will be announced in April.

Australia's big annual journalism honors, the Walkley Awards, were announced this week, and feature impressive in-depth reporting. Among the topics awarded: the plight of Palestinian and Israeli children in Israeli courts, Australia's asylum system, child sex abuse in the Salvation Army, and "unconscionable" practices by the nation's top banks.

The latest round of Knight News Challenge grants is out. The theme this year: strengthening the Internet. Among the 19 projects funded are mapping Internet ownership in Europe; new measurement tools for online censorship and rights violations; and verification and collaboration tools.